First Methodist Church of Yoakum

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, folks, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, Yoakum was a young town with a lot of new faces and not a lot of permanent fixtures when the East Texas Conference of the Methodist Church decided something needed to be done about that. They sent a man named Reverend Thomas S.

Armstrong, and he came to Yoakum with a purpose. On October 28, 1889, Armstrong led a small group of Methodists in organizing what would become the First Methodist Church of Yoakum. The charter members were a tight little company.

Mrs. M. M.

Riggs. Mr. and Mrs. Jim Hulse.

Mrs. Martha Goode. Mrs.

S. L. Edwards.

Mr. and Mrs. D. F.

Sistrunk. Mrs. Sarah Weatherly.

And Mr. T. M.

Dodd, who had the honor of serving as the congregation's very first steward. Now here's where the story gets a little color. In those early days, this congregation was not picky about where they worshipped.

They gathered in the Knights of Pythias Hall. They met in an empty saloon building on Front Street. An empty saloon.

You heard me right. They shared buildings with the local Presbyterian and Baptist churches, too. Wherever there was a roof and a willing room, the Methodists showed up.

But by 1893, they had put down roots of their own. Their first house of worship went up that year on the corner of Rose Street and Price Avenue. It served the congregation until 1917, when they replaced it with a brick structure.

And then in 1973, the congregation moved again, this time to a new church building right here at this site. Also in that founding year of 1893, the Women's Missionary Society was established. Today it goes by United Methodist Women, and it has continued its outreach activities for more than a century.

A small group in a borrowed saloon. A congregation that just kept growin', just kept buildin', just kept servin'. That is one story Yoakum ought to be proud of.

What the marker says

The Rev. Thomas S. Armstrong, sent by the East Texas Conference of the Methodist Church to establish a church in Yoakum, led a small group of Methodists in organizing this congregation on October 28, 1889. The charter members included Mrs. M. M. Riggs, Mr. and Mrs. Jim Hulse, Mrs. Martha Goode, Mrs. S. L. Edwards, Mr. and Mrs. D. F. Sistrunk, Mrs. Sarah Weatherly, and Mr. T. M. Dodd, who served as the congregation's first steward. Early worship services were held in a variety of locations, including the Knights of Pythias Hall, an empty saloon building on Front Street, and buildings shared with the local Presbyterian and Baptist churches. The Methodist congregation built its first house of worship in 1893 on the corner of Rose Street and Price Avenue. It was replaced with a brick structure in 1917, and the congregation moved to a new church building at this site in 1973. Throughout its history the First United Methodist Church of Yoakum has been active in service to the community. The Women's Missionary Society (now known as United Methodist Women) was founded in 1893 and has continued its outreach activities for more than a century. 1995